Blair's New Battle:
Weather of Mass Destruction

By

James K. Glassman

Updated Sept. 16, 2004 12:01 a.m. ET

In a hyperbolic speech Tuesday night, British Prime Minister Tony Blair tried to rouse leaders of the G-8 group of industrial countries to battle global warming now or face "catastrophic consequences." Meanwhile, Mr. Blair and other supporters of the Kyoto Protocol, which would require large cuts in energy use, are pointing to recent volatile weather conditions, including hurricanes in the southern U.S., as evidence that rising temperatures are already having disastrous effects.